This was a small island at the west end of the City in the James River. Used
as an incarceratory for enlisted men, it had a few shacks and some Sibley tents.
A hospital for prisoners and an iron factory also occupied the island. The men
were allowed to swim in the river and some escaped in this manner. Cannon and
rifle pits effectively discouraged many attempts of this nature. By 1863, almost
10,000 men were imprisoned here. The old Richmond & Petersburg Railroad bridge
to the island was called by the prisoners "Bridge of Sighs". It has long been a
center of dispute. The South claimed a low death-rate; the North, a very high
one.
|
Richmond Dispatch |
4/5/1862; Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works needs nail keg hoops |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/8/1862; John Roberts, living on Belle Isle, looking for missing 7-year old
daughter |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
5/13/1862; body found - little daughter of John Roberts, Belle Isle foundry |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
5/13/1862; daughter of a worker at the Belle
Isle works drowns - body recovered near the Danville Bridge |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
6/6/1862; Capt.
Norris Montgomery adv for 2 negroes |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
7/9/1862; movement of captured
Yankees to Belle Isle is being debated |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
7/11/1862; 5300 prisoners at Libby
& Belle Isle |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
7/12/1862;
Several hundred wounded POWs arrive & sent to Belle Isle. Officers named. 61
men arrived in ambulances from Brackett’s House, Charles City Road. – Yankee
POWs. Also list of accompanying doctors |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/12/1862; cots are being made for
Union wounded at Libby Prison; says that many prisoners will soon be sent to
Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
7/14/1862; 3000 Yankees moved to
Belle Isle, including over 1000 previously housed at Barrett's factory |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/14/1862; prisoners have been
sent to Belle Isle, officers are confined in Crenshaw warehouse (within
Tredegar Iron Works); account of letters sent from Libby Prison |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
7/15/1862; good description of the prison on
Belle Isle - notes that the prisoners are "seeing a good time" and spend
their hours in leisure and play |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
7/17/1862; several hundred Yankees
have arrived from Savage's Station and will be put on Belle Isle. Prisoners
are anticipating exchange |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
7/19/1862; 5,000 prisoners on
Belle Isle; Libby Prison mentioned |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
7/19/1862; 8000 (probably 9000) prisoners are
in Richmond - 3000 at Libby, 5000 at Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/22/1862; prisoners at Libby sent
to Belle Isle; there are 4,700 there now. Wounded prisoners (1,000) remain
at Libby |
|
Philadelphia
Press |
7/22/1862; lists of Pennsylvania
prisoners in Richmond; describes prison of Reynolds and McCall |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/23/1862; Libby Prison has become
a hospital for sick prisoners; well prisoners are at Belle Isle. Lt. Turner
is in charge |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
7/26/1862; good description of
Belle Isle; mentions that the Isle is reached by a boat starting from near
Tredegar |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/1/1862; Sick Belle Isle
prisoners have been taken to Libby, preparatory to exchange |
|
Charleston
Mercury |
8/2/1862; "War Gossip" mentions criticism
of the Dix-Hill Prisoner Cartel, the condemnation of Gen. Butler, South
Carolinians at Camp Lee, and describes the newly formed Belle Isle Prison -
notes that there are 4600 POWs there |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/2/1862; 600 Yankees have been
exchanged, including women from Castle Thunder; the sickest men from Belle
Isle and Libby are sent first; 4,100 remain on Belle Isle, and 400 at Libby
Prison |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/6/1862; 3,000 Belle Isle
prisoners have been exchanged; no officers this time; says there are 1,700
prisoners left |
|
Charleston Mercury |
8/7/1862; reprint of Richmond
Examiner story describing Belle Isle. |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/11/1862; 2500 Yankees have
arrived from Lynchburg, and are awaiting exchange on Belle Isle |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/14/1862; 125
POWs from Pope’s army arrive – enlisted men put on Belle Isle. Officers not
treated as prisoners of war. |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/14/1862; Salisbury prisoners,
including Col. Corcoran and Wilcox are arriving, and the citizen prisoners
have been moved to Libby from Belle Isle to accommodate them |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/15/1862; Cols. Wilcox and
Corcoran have arrived from Salisbury and are quartered at Libby preparatory
to exchange. Enlisted men are on Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/18/1862; the last of the
Salisbury prisoners have arrived in Richmond, preparatory to exchange |
|
Shirleysburg (PA)
Herald |
8/21/1862; letter from soldier on
Belle Isle, estimates over 4,000 prisoners there |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
8/22/1862; 3000 prisoners on Belle
Isle |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
8/25/1862; 4,800 prisoners on Belle
Isle |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. IV, p. 865 |
8/27/1862; Henry Wirz has been
appointed to command Richmond Prisons; issues orders to Norris Montgomery,
cmdg Belle Isle, to furnish updated lists of prisoners |
|
RG 109, Ch. 6, Vol.
199.5, p. 15 |
8/29/1862; Wirz calls for 7 extra guards at
Belle Isle |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
8/30/1862; Old
Dominion Iron and Nail Works want scrap & pig iron |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. IV, p. 868 |
8/31/1862; 2,000 new prisoners
arrive |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
9/1/1862; Belle Isle is crowded
with 5,000+ prisoners; very nasty at this time; preparations are being made
for exchange |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
9/5/1862; 2500
Belle Isle POWs to be sent to Varina today |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
9/6/1862; Capt.
Tucker’s Co., 2nd North Carolina Battalion, stationed at Belle Isle.
Remainder of battn stationed “near Drury’s Bluff.” Commander adv for two
deserters. |
|
RG 109, Ch. 6, Vol. 199.5, p. 19 |
9/6/1862; Wirz orders Capt. Montgomery to send
in the names of prisoners who die at Belle Isle each morning |
|
RG 109, Ch. 6, Vol.
199.5, p. 19 |
9/7/1862; Wirz orders Capt. Elliot, of the City
Battalion, to send 20 guards to Libby Prison, in order to conduct prisoners
to Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
9/8/1862; 500 prisoners paroled
(400 from Belle Isle, 100 from Libby), guarded by men from Camp Lee |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
9/9/1862; Old Dominion Iron Works
appeals for raw materials |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
9/10/1862; 200
POWs arrive 9/9 – sent to Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
9/15/1862; 3,300 prisoners,
including 61 officers, have been exchanged at Aiken's Landing. Some of the
prisoners were women and deserters held in Castle Thunder |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
9/24/1862; Belle Isle, now empty,
is being fumigated |
|
Richmond Dispatch |
11/13/1862; Wm.
S. Triplett, President Old Dominion Iron & Nail Works, adv for hoops for
nail kegs. Gives location as 14th St. south of Cary. |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
12/16/1862; Col. Norris Montgomery has resigned
his commission in the Deas Artillery |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
1/17/1863;
Belle Isle is ordered to be fitted up for prison use - huts and tents are
ordered erected |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
3/23/1863; Danville RR cars bring in over 1000
prisoners, some officers named. At present, there are 180 officers in Libby
Prison |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
4/6/1863; the Richmond City
Battalion (25th Bn VA Inf) is understood to be leaving the city for active
service due to unsavory types infesting its ranks |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
5/1/1863; former guard at Belle
Isle has been arrested for forgery |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
5/11/1863; Castle Thunder
admittees; 1300 Yankees arrived at Libby yesterday - if this rate keeps up,
Belle Isle will be re-opened |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
5/13/1863; brief description of Belle Isle,
which has the appearance of being "a military camp" with a large number of
prisoners now confined there |
|
Richmond
Dispatch |
5/14/1863; over 7,000 prisoners
from Libby Prison and Belle Isle have been exchanged |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
5/14/1863; prisoners at Libby and
Belle Isle are being paroled |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
5/16/1863; Belle Isle is vacant of
prisoners |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/21/1863; negro soldier
discovered on Belle Isle while paroling prisoners |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/21/1863; 1,006 prisoners paroled
from Belle Isle and sent north |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/28/1863; 4,300 total prisoners
in Richmond; 3,309 at Belle Isle; several thousand paroled recently |
|
Bowen, Roland E.
(Gregory A Coco, ed.) From Balls Bluff to Gettysburg and Beyond, pp. 173-184 |
8/8/1863-12/27/1863; Written after
his release, Bowen (Pvt., 15th Mass Inf.) gives an excellent account of life
on Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
9/1/1863; Belle Isle has 4 - 5,000
prisoners |
|
New York Sunday
Mercury |
9/13/1863; letter from exchanged
soldier in the 9th NY, relating experiences as a prisoner on Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
10/5/1863; 8,550 prisoners at
Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
10/5/1863; Guard at Belle Isle put
in Castle Thunder for trading with prisoners |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
10/6/1863; 850 Belle Isle prisoners to be sent
off today |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
10/23/1863; 10,500 prisoners at
Belle Isle |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, pp. 482-483 |
11/7/1863; Report of U. S.
Christian Commissioner regarding poor condition on Belle Isle and Scott's
factory prisons. States there are 5,400 prisoners at Belle Isle |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, p. 485 |
11/8/1863; complaint of conditions
on Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
11/9/1863; "outbreak" at Belle
Isle suppressed |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, p. 852-853 |
11/10/1863 - 1/18/1864; statement
of clothing issued to prisoners in Richmond. |
|
Franklin (PA)
Repository |
11/18/1863; a paroled chaplain
says prisoners on Belle Isle are being intentionally starved |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, pp. 544-548 |
11/18/1863; report of number of
prisoners in Richmond as well as provisions issued to prisoners |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, pp. 572-574 |
11/26/1863; Conditions at Libby and
Belle Isle described |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, pp. 586-588 |
11/27/1863; Complaint on conditions
at Belle Isle and Libby; also report on mortality at Belle Isle from
Carrington (to Winder) |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
11/28/1863; 16,411 prisoners in
Richmond and Belle Isle. 952 of the number are officers. |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, pp. 642-643 |
12/3/1863; rations & supplies at
Libby & Belle Isle |
|
RG 109, Ch. 6, Vol. 7, no page |
12/4/1863; "Hospitals for prisoners of war are
placed on the same footing as other C. S. hospitals in all respects, and
will be managed accordingly" |
|
Harper’s Weekly |
12/5/1863; article describing Belle Isle, and providing a
highly propagandized engraving of the prison camp. Article describes suffering
on Belle Isle, and mentions that 43 men are dying in Richmond hospitals each
day. Mentions FOUR dogs being captured and eaten by prisoners [maybe the first
of the dog-slaying stories]. Also includes an excerpt from the Richmond
Examiner, describing the placement of cannon over the prison |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
12/30/1863; Belle Isle prisoners
will soon be removed to Andersonville; Belle Isle is quite overcrowded. At
Andersonville "no difficulty will be encountered in supplying their wants." |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
1/2/1864; 500 prisoners from
"McCurdy's tobacco factory" have been removed to Belle Isle |
|
OR Supplement 73: 585-587 |
2/2-27/1864; C. S. Engineers
guarding prisoners on Belle Isle in response to rumors of an uprising there |
|
Richmond
Whig |
2/10/1864; rumor of POW unrest at
Belle Isle |
| Josiah Gorgas Journal |
2/18/1864; reports that 400 POWs
being sent to Ga. daily |
|
Richmond
Enquirer |
2/19/1864; "The Feeding of the Prisoners"
testimony from the butcher who supplied Chimborazo Hospital and Gen. Winder
(for prisoners) with meat - shoots down the idea that the prisoners are
inadequately supplied, while noting that they may not have gotten the best
beef |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
2/24/1864; 400 Yankee prisoners from
Belle Isle are taken to Libby Prison to await transfer to Andersonville |
|
Richmond
Whig |
2/27/1864; list of Castle Thunder
(7) and Libby Prison (8) inmates sent off by special exchange, including a
woman found in men's clothes on Belle Isle, and a correspondent of the New
York Herald |
|
Richmond
Whig |
3/7/1864; rumor of mutiny at Belle
Isle is false |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VI, pp. 1087-1090 |
3/6/1864; Report on sanitary
conditions at Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
3/30/1864; Libby and Belle Isle
are nearly empty |
|
Richmond Sentinel |
4/12/1864; details on the recent
freshet on the James River - all the islands are flooded except Belle Isle |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VII, pp. 116-119 |
5/5/1864; Union report of
sufferings on Belle Isle |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VII, p. 39 |
5/11/1864; Confederate report on
mortality at Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Whig |
5/12/1864;
Forty-four Yankee officers and 891 Yankee
soldiers from the V Corps arrive in the city. Some are recognized as having
been on Belle Isle in 1862 by "Lieut. Shihn, Assistant Provost Marshal in
this city, who once had charge of them on Belle Isle." |
| Richmond
Sentinel |
5/13/1864; described briefly |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VII, pp. 80-81 |
5/23/1864; Reprint of letter to the
New York Times entitled "Prison Life in Richmond - It's Cruelties." |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
6/1/1864; "What is Belle Isle Kept
Up For?" |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
6/27/1864; 3000 prisoners arrive
in Richmond, Libby is full and Belle Isle has been re-opened |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/1/1864; Belle Isle has been
re-opened as a prison |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/5/1864; Richmond prisons, except
Castle Thunder and Belle Isle, are nearly empty |
| OR Supplement, 70: 712 |
7/6/1864; 2nd Bn. Va. Reserves
organized on Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
7/8/1864; Belle Isle is once again
uninhabited - all the prisoners have been sent south; hostages and special
prisoners are kept at Libby |
| OR Supplement, 70: 333 |
8/1864; Alexandria Artillery on
duty at Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Examiner |
8/4/1864; appeal to move all sick
prisoners to Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
8/27/1864; four men shot trying to
escape Belle Isle |
|
Richmond
Whig |
8/27/1864; five men shot while
trying to escape from Belle Isle on successive nights |
|
Charleston
Mercury |
9/20/1864; editorial notation describing the
utilization of prisoners from Libby and Belle Isle as laborers - questions
whether this can be expanded (copied from the Richmond Examiner) |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VII, pp. 337-353 |
9/24/1864;
Description of the guard on Belle Isle, conditions of the prison and what is
being done to improve the prison. |
|
RG 109, Ch. 6, Vol. 151, p. 66 |
3/1864 - 9/1864; Statistics of Belle Isle
Prison Hospital |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
10/12/1864; two stewards on Belle
Isle were before the Mayor for stealing government grease from the Belle
Isle kitchens; they were released |
|
Gen. Wm. M. Gardner CSR, M331 |
10/23/1864; 19th VA Militia is guarding
prisoners at Libby Prison and not doing a good job – many desertions, and
terrible discipline; recommendation that the “Invalid Corps at Belle Isle”
not be broken up to provide an additional guard |
|
Richmond
Sentinel |
12/24/1864; man brought
to trial for stealing nitre from the laboratory; four boys sentenced for
stealing iron from the Old Dominion Iron Works on Belle Isle |
|
Official Records, Ser. II, Vol. VIII, pp. 337-353 |
3/3/1865;
Report of
the joint select committee appointed to investigate the condition and
treatment of prisoners of war. |
|
Richmond
Whig |
4/14/1865; Belle Isle is to be a
refugee camp |
|
Richmond
Whig |
5/4/1865; "idle colored" women of
Manchester have been sent to Belle Isle |
|
The Lost
Cause, A New Southern History of the War... |
1866; by Edward A. Pollard; this
excerpt reprints the southern Congress' response to the prisoner issue,
written in 1865. Describes Libby Prison, General Hospital #21, and Belle
Isle |
|
Trowbridge, John T.,
The South... |
1866 account of the author's
travels to Richmond and the adjoining battlefields. Good material on Belle
Isle, Brown's Island, Libby Prison, battlefields near the city |
|
DeForest (81st NY), Random Sketches... |
1866 memoir describing conditions
in the early Richmond prisons, Libby and Belle Isle |
|
Southern Opinion |
8/10/1867; description of Belle Isle as a prison camp – notes on the
cemetery, the origins of the prison (says that there was a debate about
whether to use Haxall’s Mill or Belle Isle), the current state of the island
(notes many gardens in the old camp area, and the Old Dominion Iron and Nail
Works is in full blast), and the view from the summit of the isle |
|
Thomas Bean Letter |
c. 1870; excerpt
of reminiscence of Belle Isle prisoner from 1864. Excellent details on
intake of prisoners and layout of Belle Isle. |
|
Scribner's Monthly, July 1877 |
7/1877; "Richmond Since the War" -
good material on Tredegar Iron Works, Belle Isle, Libby Prison, Oakwood
Cemetery, and Capital Square |
|
National Tribune |
9/2/1882; description of harsh
conditions on Belle Isle and brief account of the "dog slaying" incident |
|
National Tribune |
9/9/1882; brief description of
prison life on Belle Isle |
|
National Tribune |
1/10/1884; notes on the opening
date of Belle Isle |
|
National Tribune |
1/24/1884; account of the capture
of the 4th New Jersey at Gaines' Mill, and subsequent imprisonment in Libby
Prison and Belle Isle is the summer of 1862 |
|
National Tribune |
2/14/1884; brief account of
prisoner's experience in Libby, Pemberton, Belle Isle, and Andersonville;
notes that small pox broke out in Pemberton |
|
National Tribune |
2/14/1884; description of how Belle
Isle was set up as a prison by captured Gaines' Mill prisoners from Libby |
|
National Tribune |
1/6/1887; good description of the
"dog slaying" episode on Belle Isle |
|
Toledo Blade |
6/9/1887; gives description of life
on Belle Isle in late 1863 and early 1864; includes account of the
dog-slaying incident; mentions that he was also in Pemberton Prison for a
brief time |
|
National Tribune |
3/11/1888; brief account of a
prisoner being shot on Belle Isle for going near the "dead line" |
|
National Tribune |
7/11/1889; Details of the
dog-killing incident at Belle Isle - notes regarding a female soldier found
there |
|
National Tribune |
9/5/1889; account of kind treatment
on Belle Isle of a drummer-boy imprisoned there |
|
New York
Times |
3/1/1891; part four of serialized
account of life in Libby. Notes that 1864 began poorly - the Confederates
cut off supplies from the North in order to compel the US Government to
resume exchanges; author went to Belle Isle to help distribute last batch of
supplies; mentions Castle Thunder; he was glad to be in Libby rather than
Belle Isle - notes on the "dog-slaying incident" and confirms it. Further
notes the presence of negroes on Belle Isle and their negative treatment by
their fellow prisoners. Describes Gen. J. H. Morgan's visit to Libby and
begins description of the Libby tunnel and says he was one of the diggers.
|
|
New York
Times |
4/5/1891; part nine of serialized
account of life in Libby. Describes the plan to break out of Libby upon the
success of Dahlgren's raid. Says that there were 1,200 prisoners in Libby at
the time. Also noted that 20,000 others in Richmond between Belle Isle and
Pemberton. Notes that prison authorities found out about the plot and
brought in extra guards and artillery across the street. Relates hearsay
evidence of Turner's statement that the prison was mined. |
|
National Tribune |
11/10/1892; "Belle Isle Revisited,"
gives account of the author's trip to Belle Isle and notes its changes |
|
National Tribune |
12/28/1893; brief account of harsh
treatment on Belle Isle - notes that he was almost killed by a train on his
way to Belle Isle |
|
National Tribune |
1/25/1894; description of how the
Confederates "tricked" Yankees into moving from Pemberton Prison to Belle
Isle |
|
Van Santvoord, Cornelius, 120th Regiment New York State Volunteers |
1894; description of life on Belle
Isle in 1864, including offers for employment at the Tredegar Iron Works
upon taking the oath of allegiance; apparently, very few would do so |
|
National Tribune |
6/13/1895; refutation of the claim
that prisoners at Belle Isle were "jolly fellows;" good details of the harsh
treatment, and attempts to escape |
|
National Tribune |
8/29/1895; brief description of the
author's prison experiences at Belle Isle, Pemberton, and Scott's prisons |
|
National
Tribune |
8/16/1900;
Part Two of Silas Crocker’s serialized
account of life in captivity in Richmond - relates the story of his stay on
Belle Isle with good details on the prison’s geography. Very fair account,
though bitter, he complains only of the quantity of the food. Says the
mental strain was the hardest. Also relates the method used to trick the
prisoners into thinking they were to be exchanged, and then putting them in
trains and sending them south. |
|
National Tribune |
2/28/1901; description of a visit to Richmond,
mentions Bird Island, Belle Isle (mentions that many soldiers still buried
there), and the White House of the Confederacy |
|
National
Tribune |
4/11/1901; former prisoner at Belle
Isle describes the cold winter of 1863-64 and mentions the rations coming to
the island via barge from the north bank |
|
National Tribune |
5/2/1901; notes on the Belle Isle
singing quartet |
|
National
Tribune |
10/23/1902; Capt. Beecham's good,
but very bitter, account of life on Belle Isle after Gettysburg. Includes a
copy of an article from Jackson Warner, Commissary in Richmond denying that
prisoners were starved: he says that they were as well fed as Confederate
soldiers. Of course the author disagrees with him. Author was on Belle Isle
for 15 days. |
|
National
Tribune |
1/29/1903; takes up account of Belle
Isle where Beecham left off (NT 10/23/1902); describes the moving of
prisoners to Andersonville and the trick that the Confederates played to get
the prisoners to get off the island. |
|
National
Tribune |
4/16/1903; further information on
the "battle of the gate" at Belle Isle - the red-headed Sergeant was named
Hite, and a deserter from the Union army. Describes his various acts of
cruelty, including his use of a wooden horse for punishment. Mentions not
being fed on New Year's Day, 1864, as well as the scarcity of coffins during
this period. Asks if anyone remembers the killing of the Lt.'s dog. |
|
National
Tribune |
4/30/1903; soldier corroborates
account of breaking open the doors of Libby upon the evacuation of Richmond;
also relates his imprisonment in Libby and Belle Isle; relates the cruelty
of the doctor on Belle Isle, and the kindness of another doctor who took him
to a hospital in Richmond. Mentions having witnessed the bread riot, but
cannot be telling the truth, because he was captured in 1864 |
|
National
Tribune |
6/25/1903; more on the dog-slaying
incident at Belle Isle |
|
National
Tribune |
7/30/1903; letter from a soldier in
Libby Prison mentioning the dearth of food for the prisoners |
|
National
Tribune |
8/13/1903; description of Belle Isle
in 1862; described badly, but notes that "that prison had not yet become
noted for atrocities that distinguished it later," and there were 3,000 to
4,000 prisoners there at the time |
|
National
Tribune |
9/3/1903; description of life on
Belle Isle after Gettysburg. Describes Bossieux stealing money from the
prisoners, and mentions being in charge of a bathing detail in the river -
only 40 were supposed to go out at a time, but the author let out many more.
Also mentions that he was later put on commissary detail, going by boat to
Richmond to get the rations |
|
National
Tribune |
12/31/1903; author asks some leading
questions: Why was the cook house on Belle Isle below the sinks? Where are
the Germans [emphasis] who ate the Lieutenant's Dog? Also notes that he took
the paw of the dog out of prison. |
|
National
Tribune |
1/7/1904; former prisoner at
Pemberton and Belle Isle says that Belle Isle was worse than Andersonville,
and that dead prisoners would be frozen stiff to the ground |
|
National
Tribune |
5/19/1904; brief letter describing
imprisonment in Pemberton Prison and Belle Isle from late 1862 to early
1864. Mentions a one-eyed guard named Sgt. Marks who clubbed prisoners, and
Lieut. Bossieux being in charge of Belle Isle. |
|
National
Tribune |
8/11/1904; letter of a Gettysburg
prisoner who spent six weeks in Belle Isle. Mentions a soldier taking the
oath of allegiance to the CSA, and that a large party escaped on Aug. 12,
along with several guards from the 42nd NC. Also mentions prisoners working
for the rebels, who paid them with extra rations. |
|
National Tribune |
9/6/1906; a veteran of Richmond prisons asks questions about them.
Pemberton, the Belle Isle sutler, and the dog-slaying incident are
mentioned. |
|
Richmond
Times-Dispatch |
4/30/1910; obituary notice of
Virginius Bossieux, former commandant of Belle Isle. |
